Whistler arrived in France in 1855, with the intention of becoming an
artist. But his first major work, “At the piano”, was not accepted
for showing at the Paris Salon and he decided to settle in London. That
didn’t nonetheless prevent him from travelling abroad frequently.

During a stay in Perros-Guirec, in the north of Brittany, at the end of
the summer of 1861, he painted only one picture, “Alone with the tide”,
previously named "The coast of Brittany", of which he was very
proud. The subject as well as the style make
this painting rather particular among Whistler’s works, but during a
second stay on the same location two years later, he painted several
marine pictures that were more in his usual style.

I located the precise spot where Whistler planted his easel to paint
this picture : click here
to appreciate how he interpreted his subject.